Which renewable energy policy is a venture capitalist's best friend? Empirical evidence from a survey of international cleantech investors

Governments around the world have adopted ambitious targets to increase the share of renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They pursue a variety of policy approaches to achieve these targets. It has been a popular theme for contributions in Energy Policy to investigate the effectiveness of such policies. This article adds a new perspective to the debate, namely looking at the policy preferences of private investors in innovative clean energy technology firms. We surveyed 60 investment professionals from European and North American venture capital and private equity funds and asked them to assess the effectiveness of various policies, in terms of stimulating their interest to invest in innovative clean energy technologies. In addition to quantitative rankings, we use qualitative interview data to capture additional information on why investors prefer some policies over others. The combined analysis compensates for the inherent limitations of a quantitative ranking using generic policy types. The results of this exploratory analysis demonstrate that, all other things being equal, investors in our sample perceived feed-in tariffs to be the most effective renewable energy policy. The overall preference for feed-in tariffs is even more pronounced among investors based in Europe and with higher exposure to clean energy.Feed-in tariffs Policy effectiveness Venture capital

Governance drivers and barriers for business model transformation in the energy sector

Smart second-generation policies for energy transition governance have been less studied and reviewed in the literature. They are also difficult to compare or measure in terms of their effectiveness with regard to the energy transition, not only because each country’s objectives and underlying drivers for an energy transition are different. Technological innovation and new technology deployment are only the tip of the iceberg. Understanding how to redesign energy governance to allow for business model reconfiguration among incumbents and how to stimulate business model innovation by start-ups and new entrants is key for an effective and sustainable energy transition in the long term. However, beyond this, countries must address the underlying driving forces such as consumption patterns and the financial system. Therefore, business model transformation is not the only solution, but it is an important one and it requires well-designed policies. It also requires the involvement of all stakeholders at all levels of the economic fabric of each region and country. At the same time, we continue to measure progress on energy transitions in a superficial and extremely limited way. Policies must now be smarter, not just more ambitious in terms of appearances, and the measurement of energy transition progress must evolve as well. We discuss the full story of an energy transition to the extent possible in a single chapter. For example, we will review business models in different sub-sectors, policies that either block or promote such changes in each sub-sector chosen, and the elements that are necessary for energy transitions to become successful and sustainable without long-term government intervention and financial support. Finally, we also provide insights from an expert workshop held in 2019 and we outline our upcoming work on an Energy Transition Preparedness Index

Use cases for blockchain in the energy industry ::A critical review

This paper reviews major use cases for blockchain architectures and continues with a critical review of issues to study further in future research work including as related to energy consumption of blockchain architectures and ensuring a reliable distribution network and security of supply

Use cases for blockchain in the energy industry opportunities of emerging business models and related risks

This paper focuses on use cases for blockchain architectures with the goal of identifying major issues to study further in future research works. The paper will also consider aspects related to energy consumption of blockchain architectures, and risks and opportunities of emerging business models while ensuring a reliable distribution network and security of supply

Blockchain in industry ::review of key use cases and lessons learned

In this paper key applications of blockchain (and smart contracts) are reviewed coming from across different industries around the world, and lessons learned are pulled from this review with a specific focus on what can be learned regarding the energy industry and in relation to the energy transition in particular. While it is difficult to obtain clear conclusions based on such early stage applications in other industrial sectors, like the financial sector, some basic insights emerged that could provide general lessons learned to inform players in the energy industry (in particular utilities and the innovation ecosystem around them) about the potential for blockchain in the energy industry, considering of course that stakeholders in this industry operate and innovate under a highly regulated market

BlockChainTechnology for energy transition

In this chapter, we provide a framework for assessing the relevance and impact of BlockChain technologies for enabling the energy transition from both the production and consumption sides of the equation. We will assess the issues and current solutions to understand how BlockChain combined with Smart Contracting could be best adapted and combined to serve energy transition objectives. The assessment is taken from both the technology and business models perspectives. Our framework is designed as a guide for the adoption and deployment of BlockChain and Smart Contract solutions in the energy sector for common and new use cases by taking the perspective of multiple stakeholders such as consumers (either private and industrial), producers, operators and investors in microgrids, DSOs and TSOs. Moreover, we will include aspects related to regulation and policies. The proposed framework and assessment methodology are the synthesis of a study realized in Switzerland where several representatives of multiple stakeholders have been consulted via interviews and a workshop held in mid-2019